NEW YORK _ It's hard to imagine just how optimistic the mood has been around the Knicks as the team approaches Monday's start of training camp considering that not only hasn't a game been played, but that the expectations aren't all that high for the coming season.
The patient approach to the rebuild is easier to take in the offseason before the losses have piled up and the young team looks like, well, a young team. But for the Knicks, preaching a process and gradually reshaping their roster to a young, hopeful bunch has made this season feel different from most _ even if the result may be the same in the standings.
When the Knicks executives, Steve Mills and Scott Perry, gave their state of the team introductions Thursday and it was David Fizdale's turn, the new Knicks coach opted for a simpler message.
"Let's go," he shouted before adding as the laughter died down, "We talked enough this summer, it's time to get training camp going. Our guys are excited. I know our staff is bouncing off the walls right now ready to get after it. I'm ready to go. I'm really excited about this. Just because what these guys just said. We had a heck of a summer. Just the commitment of our guys in getting in the gym and putting in the sweat equity. And now we're ready to go."
Well, the players may have worked, but the work of the front office in the summer mainly was to maintain a status quo _ a payroll with room to chase free agents next summer _ and begin a shift to young, athletic players who can compete in the current state of the NBA where there is an emphasis on versatility and ability to play multiple positions.
The Knicks don't know when _ or if _ they will have their star centerpiece, Kristaps Porzingis, available to play as he rehabilitates from the torn ACL he suffered last season. A handful of veterans remain as holdovers including Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Enes Kanter, but the focus is on preparing the core of kids for the future.
That means playing time and, more important, player development, will fall into the hands of Fizdale as he tasked with getting the most out of rookies Kevin Knox and Mitchell Robinson, as well as second-year point guard Frank Ntilikina and a quartet of former lottery picks that the Knicks have brought in as low-cost, low-risk reclamation projects.
While the changes to the roster have provided Fizdale with a more athletic group to implement his plans, he still has to balance the development process with wins _ or at least teaching the players how to seek wins.
"It's pretty easy I think from the standpoint of we have a young roster so those guys are going to play," Fizdale said. "I think it's what you emphasize in practice, the environment you create, the defensive-minded coaching that you're going to put forth. When you put that on the floor I feel like it's going to give us a chance with everybody.
"If we do it every single day, the right way and we build those habits, those professional championship habits, every single day and treat each other the right way along that process, I just feel like we'll be able to compete."
"That's the exciting part of watching this group come together," Mills added. "These young guys, because they are growing and developing not only physically on a daily basis but mentally, that's the exciting part of where we're at right now. Looking forward to evaluating and watching that process as we move forward."
